Hiring unregistered contractors is risky for homeowners and encourages unfair competition against registered contractors.
That’s why the state Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) was adamant about a fourth year of sweeps to find contractors who are breaking the rules.
A recent two-day sweep in Walla Walla found four contractors who either were unregistered or who had hired unregistered contractors. Each was cited by L&I for unregistered contracting, an infraction that carries a fine of up to $5,000.
During surprise sweeps, multiple inspectors team up for the checks in selected communities on Friday and weekend days and evenings. That’s in addition to their regular work paying unannounced visits to construction sites year-round to check whether contractors are registered.
More sweeps are planned throughout the state in the coming months.
Unregistered contractors typically have no insurance and no bond, making it tough for consumers to recover damages if something goes wrong on a project.
Contractors Missing Comp Coverage
In the Walla Walla sweep in April, inspectors visited 16 job sites, where they checked 33 contractors, two plumbers and an electrician. The inspectors issued seven citations, including three plumbing infractions, which carry a fine of up to $1,000.
The inspectors also referred six contractors to L&I’s workers’ comp audit program; three of those contractors had no insurance to cover employees injured on the job.
In addition, inspectors referred six contractors who owe money to L&I to the department’s collection program, and referred one contractor to the department’s workplace safety program.
Author Kori Shafer-Stack, Editor, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in post-injury response procedures and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: kstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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